Rehl said Baird is using teams of its financial advisers to reach out on Facebook and Twitter. The company isn't restricting the content advisers choose to distribute, Rehl said, but that content is “subject to review.”
“We're not prewriting or preapproving everything they send out,” he said. “We want this to be authentic. If not, people will see right through that.”
The advisers are distributing such items as financial news and insights, and retweeting similar content. Since the program began in August, Baird has received six new inquiries via Twitter, and two large clients became Twitter followers.
“I don't think that million-dollar client will just come through the door,” Rehl said. “It takes work. It's more about nurturing the community with meaningful relationships that over time will result in business coming your way.”
MFS Investment Management is another financial services company moving forward in the social space.
“In 2008 we brought in interns, gave them cubes and had them engage in social to see if our clients were in the space,” said Jennifer Dowd, MFS communications associate. “We learned that they were, so we decided to move forward to build a social foundation.”
Dowd said MFS' marketing department spearheaded the initiative, but with participation from its legal and compliance units. MFS started with podcasts, YouTube videos and white papers; then it introduced both an internal blog for salespeople and an external, client-facing one.
“Today, we always think about social when building a campaign,” Dowd said. “Building a strong foundation seems daunting; but, once you do build it, it will help you grow, and grow up.”